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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 18, 2005

Best of friends kick up a storm in the fun house

Nothing frustrates a music critic more than a band that refuses categorization. Lots of bands, intoxicated with their own creativity, might make the claim. Not many, after a few records, resist a formula or a style that isn't easily pigeonholed in a pithy phrase or two.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 13, 2005

Nobel laureate set to be garlanded in cliche

Awarding this year's Nobel Prize in literature to British playwright Harold Pinter is giving the recipient an opportunity to mount a stage of enormous proportions, and his acceptance speech in Stockholm next month may be the most provocative, fiery and influential address ever given on this august occasion....
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 12, 2005

Beckham's glamour image at heart of debate on his talent

LONDON -- David Beckham captains England for the 50th time against Argentina in a friendly in Geneva on Saturday with, in many respects, the jury still out on the Real Madrid midfielder.
BUSINESS
Nov 12, 2005

IT, R&D tax breaks may be eliminated in March

A Tax Commission subcommittee agreed Friday that some of the government's corporate tax breaks should be abolished as planned next March because the economy seems to be recovering.
BUSINESS
Nov 12, 2005

Beer, suds wannabe sales rise 2.5%

Shipments of beer and beerlike alcoholic beverages from the five major domestic brewers rose 2.5 percent in October from a year earlier for the third straight year-on-year increase as higher temperatures stimulated demand, industry groups said Friday.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 8, 2005

Speed trap

It must have taken him by surprise. Kenji Kobayashi, former member of the House of Representatives from the Democratic Party of Japan had just lost his seat a week previous.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 6, 2005

Find the right book without even going to Jinbocho

Renso Shuppan (Associative Publishing), a nongovernmental organization headed by Akihiko Takano, professor at the National Institute of Informatics, has recently launched the Web site Book Town Jimbou (jimbou.info). Book Town Jimbou can search for books available in Jinbocho, a Tokyo district long-famous...
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2005

Jobless rate slides as recovery widens

Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at a preliminary 4.2 percent in September, down 0.1 point from August, as the ongoing economic recovery generated jobs in a wide range of industrial sectors, the government said Friday.
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2005

Foreigners free to invest in broadcasters -- up to a point

Telecommunications minister Taro Aso on Friday welcomed moves by foreign funds to hold equity stakes in Japanese broadcasters -- as long as these stakes are under the legal limit of 20 percent.
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2005

New law bars foreign control of broadcasters

The Diet on Wednesday approved legislation to prevent foreign companies from gaining control of domestic broadcasters by using affiliates in Japan, paving the way for its implementation next spring.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 21, 2005

The 39th Tokyo Motor Show is all revved up and ready to go

Trade days over, denizens of the auto industry turn their attention to entertaining and informing the general public at this year's Tokyo Motor Show glitz-fest at Chiba's Makuhari Messe from Saturday, Oct. 22 to Sunday, Nov. 6.
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2005

Bureaucrats face stricter study rules

The National Personnel Authority has decided to pursue a regulation requiring young career bureaucrats who study abroad at government expense to return the money if they quit within five years of returning home.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 15, 2005

Blatter off his rocker with comments on player salaries

LONDON -- Imagine going in to your local bar and Bill, the guy who everyone loves but cannot take seriously, said: "I've got an idea. Why not make football a game of four quarters instead of two halves? The United States television market would like it."
BUSINESS
Oct 14, 2005

September suds shipments surge 4%

Shipments of beer and beerlike alcohol by five Japanese brewers rose 3.9 percent in September from a year before for the second straight monthly increase on the back of high temperatures, according to industry figures released Thursday.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 3, 2005

Japan's GDP and GNP: How far will the domestic and the national spread?

Numerical targets are much in vogue these days. The post-election Koizumi government also seems to have caught the bug in light of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy's latest plans for managing the economy over the medium to longer term.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 23, 2005

Honda hopes revamped Civic wins over drivers with sophisticated taste

Honda Motor Co. on Thursday unveiled its remodeled Civic -- the first major revamp of the car in five years -- hoping to take one of its mainstays more upmarket.
COMMENTARY
Sep 23, 2005

Small but vital step for man

HONOLULU -- The agreement on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula reached Monday in Beijing was "one small step for man." It is, however, premature to call it a "giant leap for mankind." The agreement provides a template for working toward a solution to the denuclearization problem; it is not yet a road...
COMMENTARY
Sep 19, 2005

A mandate to finish the job

The Sept. 11 general election produced stunning results unprecedented in Japanese political history. Unaffiliated voters gave overwhelming support to the governing Liberal Democratic Party, handing the LDP-New Komeito coalition more than two-thirds of the 480-seat Lower House. Paradoxically, conservative...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 15, 2005

Independent brushstrokes

A commonly heard accusation is that Japanese oil painters are followers rather than innovators. It is a criticism that has been made against many early adopters in this country -- be they filmmakers, fashion designers, chefs or rock musicians -- and one that has even come from painters' compatriots....
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Sep 11, 2005

Here comes the naughty and the nice

Antony and the Johnsons (who?, I hear you say) may have won the Mercury Music Prize last Tuesday, but when the far more prestigious Fuzzy Logic awards are announced at the end of this year then the two bands profiled here are going to be in the running to get at least a gong apiece. Falsies on Heat must...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 10, 2005

Just 14 more mountains to climb for jackpot 100

Some long-term visitors to Japan choose to count the days. Others make the decision to suck every drop of juice out of the opportunity. Take Ginger Vaughn, for example. She falls most definitely into the latter category -- and all power to her facial and calf muscles!
COMMENTARY
Sep 8, 2005

'Third World' chaos hits home

HONOLULU -- The devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the United States is proving difficult for Americans to comprehend. Casualties currently number in the scores, but the body count is expected to swell in the days and weeks ahead -- when the survivors can stop merely trying to survive and can...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 7, 2005

Saito picks up monthly MVP

Softbank Hawks right-hander Kazumi Saito was named Tuesday the Pacific League MVP for the month of August after winning all five starts to match a Japanese record with a 15-0 start to a season.
EDITORIALS
Sep 7, 2005

Katrina's grim reminder

Sadly, we are accustomed to the regular occurrence of natural disasters. It seems as if every few months a storm, flood, tsunami or earthquake devastates a country, exacts a frightening toll, and reminds us that we remain susceptible to the forces of the physical world. In the perennial struggle between...
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2005

Jobless rate rises to 4.4%

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage point to 4.4 percent in July from June partly because more people were seeking better jobs amid the economic recovery, the government said Tuesday.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji